Elks' memorial service

Elks' memorial service
SALEM -- The public is invited when Elks Lodge 305 conducts its annual memorial service for deceased members at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the lodge, 824 E. State St. The Rev. Ross B. Jackson, associate pastor of First Presbyterian Church, will speak. Debbie Haseley will sing solos, and Nick Fithian will play taps. All relatives and friends of deceased members are invited.
Items stolen from home
SALEM -- Cash and jewelry were taken from a home on the 300 block of North Lundy Avenue, police said. A resident of the house said $1,214 and two rings were discovered missing. There was no sign that the house was broken into. The crime was reported at 11:50 a.m. Wednesday.
Man dies after crash
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- A Hadley, Pa., man died Thanksgiving morning after a car crash at Kinsman and North Good Hope roads in West Salem Township. William H. McQuiston, 93, of Grandview Drive was pronounced dead at Greenville Horizon Hospital. His death was ruled accidental, with the cause being a heart attack, according to the Mercer County coroner's office. Police said McQuiston pulled his vehicle into the path of a northbound pickup truck driven by Greg McLaughlin of West Salem Township about 10:36 a.m. McQuiston had been at a stop sign and McLaughlin was passing through the intersection, police said. They don't know whether McQuiston had the heart attack before the crash.
Charged in inspections
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Pennsylvania State Police have charged Arnold A. Brewer, of 741 Sophia St., East Liverpool, Ohio, with criminal conspiracy and tampering with public records. He is accused of performing Pennsylvania safety inspections on several vehicles without being certified and then forcing a certified mechanic to sign his name to the inspection forms.
Police reports state the reported inspections took place between Feb. 25 and March 30 at Monro Muffler/Brake & amp; Service, 927 Seventh Ave., Beaver Falls. Brewer was manager of the muffler shop when the reported violations occurred. Two Pennsylvania men, an assistant manager and a mechanic employed at the same service center, were also charged. Monro Muffler corporate offices fully cooperated with the investigation, reports state, and there is no evidence that any other Monro Muffler shops were engaged in this type of activity.
Toll-free calling area
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- People living in the Princeton section of Lawrence County can call Ellwood City toll free. Verizon announced this week that it was instituting a new call area for those people living in the 924 telephone exchange. All calls to Ellwood City exchanges 752, 758 and 824 are local calls. Princeton customers' local calling area already includes New Castle and Portersville. Listings for numbers in the Ellwood City exchanges will be included in the June 2003 edition of the Verizon New Wilmington SuperPages telephone directory. The monthly rates for local phone service will not change for Princeton customers. Verizon expanded the local calling area for Princeton customers based on customer requests, studies of calling patterns and an agreement with state Rep. Frank LaGrotta's office to eliminate toll charges on calls from Princeton to Ellwood City.
Jewelry, CDs stolen
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Someone took $3,400 worth of jewelry from a home in the 700 block of East Main Street. Police said someone broke a window in the home's dining room and then took diamond earrings, a diamond engagement ring, a diamond tennis bracelet and numerous compact disks between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday.
Traffic blitz planned
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Sheriff's Department will conduct a traffic blitz in the Uptown area of Market Street from 8 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, said Maj. Michael Budd. At least 12 deputies will be in the Market Street-Southern Boulevard area targeting speeders, seat-belt violators and impaired drivers, he said.
The sheriff's department received $87,500 from the state for such enforcement to make the holiday season safer, he said. Saturday's blitz is just the first of many, he said.
Charged in shooting
YOUNGSTOWN -- Arthur Barron III spent Thanksgiving in jail, pending arraignment today in municipal court on a murder charge.
Barron, 29, of Carroll Street, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with shooting death John M. Cannell, 32, of Quentin Drive, on Monday. A charge of complicity to commit murder against Brad Dunbar, 25, of North Hazelwood Avenue, was dismissed.